Soaked Granola

Since posting my granola recipe, I have adapted it to make a soaked version. Soaking oats reduces phytic acid, which was my original reason for doing it, but it also changes the texture into yummy little clumps of granola.

I don't have a food dehydrator, so I use my oven turned down as low as it can go, which is 170. (Of course, if you're lucky enough to have one, use it!) It cooks for about 12 hours at 170. You need to be around to stir and break it up every so often. Below are a few different variations, depending on how healthy you want to make it.  I double the recipe when I make it, since I want to fill up my oven if I'm going to have it on that long!

Basic Soaked Granola Recipe

This makes a crunchy, sweet, clumpy granola.

The night before, measure out:

6 cups oats
6 cups water
3/4 cup whey

In a separate bowl, mix:

1-2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
Enough water to cover

In the morning, drain the oats and nuts.

Meanwhile, melt in a small saucepan:

1/2 cup coconut oil
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup maple syrup
1 tsp. sea salt

Mix the coconut oil mixture and nuts with the oats.

Add:

1 cup shredded unsweetened coconut

Spread out on a baking sheet. It will not look anything like granola at this point- don't worry! It's supposed to look like someone dumped a bowl of oatmeal on your baking sheet. It will look like that for a while. It starts looking a little more granola-y about halfway through.

Bake at 170. Check about every 1-2 hours (you have some wiggle room here), stirring and breaking into clumps. It is done when you can break apart a cluster and it's not wet in the middle, anywhere from 8-12 hours.

Variations:

Cut the sweeteners in half, 1/4 cup of each.

Omit the brown sugar.

Substitute honey for the brown sugar.

Omit the coconut.

Substitute up to half of the coconut oil with butter.  (This substitution is purely for cost. I like to leave at least half coconut oil because it's sweet and because it's not something we tend to get a lot of in our diet.)

Coconut Granola Recipe

One of the first steps on my real food journey was getting rid of packaged processed breakfast cereal. But once we cleared that out, breakfast was a little more time consuming. I try to do as much as I can ahead of time, but some mornings we still need something quick as the kids are heading off to school. This granola is delicious and full of nutrients, and best of all- quick!

You can make it even more digestible by soaking the oats the night before. Drain in a colander for a few hours, and then proceed with the recipe below. I have had limited success with soaking the oats. If you have a food dehydrator, it makes this process much easier! Without, it can be a little hard to tell just when it's done. You can also lower the temperature on the oven to preserve even more of the nutrients.

Ingredients:

3 cups rolled oats
1 cup crispy walnuts or pecans
1 cup chopped almonds
3/4 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup coconut oil
3/4 tsp. salt
1 cup raisins (optional)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 250 degrees.
In a large bowl, combine the oats, nuts and coconut.
In a separate bowl, combine maple syrup, oil, and salt. Combine both mixtures and pour onto 2 sheet pans. Cook for 1 hour and 15 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes for even coloring.
Remove from oven. When cooled, add raisins if desired.
Serve with milk or yogurt.

I usually double this recipe because it goes fast around here! If your baking sheets are large, it may take under the recommended time, so be sure to check. You'll know it's done when the shredded coconut starts to turn golden brown.